Universal Tae Kwon Do Brotherhood

[Miles]

This was a pretty old thread which got resurrected. The original post was asking about the organization but the discussion seemed to center around the founder, GM Humesky.

The poster said GM Humesky is not active in WTF events. That's not true. I have had the pleasure of having lunch with GM Humesky several times over the years at TKD events throughout MI. I've had the pleasure of meeting with several of GM Humesky's black belts and watching them compete. They were competent martial artists.

I have a copy of GM Sell's "Blue Book" and there is a photo of a much younger GM Humesky refereeing a match at a tournament.

As far as the high ranks claimed-it is not uncommon for long-time master instructors to be crossed ranked in both Kukkiwon and ITF. The Publisher of TKD Times mentioned in a recent article that he is 8th dan Kukkiwon though he teaches ITF tul and is an advisor to ITF President Chang Ung. GM Hee Il Cho has KKW rank and he was a member of the ITF Demo team back in the early 70s. Chuck Norris holds KKW rank and MDK rank....

BTW, Eric, welcome to MT!

Miles

 

[exile]

This was a pretty old thread which got resurrected. The original post was asking about the organization but the discussion seemed to center around the founder, GM Humesky.

This is quite true, and it's important to be kind of careful, I think, in reviving old threads, particularly in the KMA section. There were some periods a few years back when things got kind of unpleasant—every thread seemed to devolve into to a verbal punch-up, and there was a lot of free-floating hostility and tension. The mods did some strong intervention, and things have been much better since—I saw all this when I was lurking, just working my way through the various threads in chronological order. Many things were said in excessively harsh ways and I think the overall effect was kind of destructive. After the shakeup in the KMA forum, though, it got much more pleasant and the threads became much more fun to read (and probably a lot more fun for the participants).

My own feeling is, it's probably better to restart interesting-looking topics from scratch (maybe with some pointers to the older threads where appropriate) as new threads than to bring the old ones to life again—less likelihood of opening up old wounds or inadvertantly inflicting new ones...

 

[kuntawguro]

Miles, do I know you?
I am a long time Michigan competitor

 

[utb1528]

This is quite true, and it's important to be kind of careful, I think, in reviving old threads, particularly in the KMA section. There were some periods a few years back when things got kind of unpleasant—every thread seemed to devolve into to a verbal punch-up, and there was a lot of free-floating hostility and tension. The mods did some strong intervention, and things have been much better since—I saw all this when I was lurking, just working my way through the various threads in chronological order. Many things were said in excessively harsh ways and I think the overall effect was kind of destructive. After the shakeup in the KMA forum, though, it got much more pleasant and the threads became much more fun to read (and probably a lot more fun for the participants).

My own feeling is, it's probably better to restart interesting-looking topics from scratch (maybe with some pointers to the older threads where appropriate) as new threads than to bring the old ones to life again—less likelihood of opening up old wounds or inadvertantly inflicting new ones...

Exile you are right in general. However, when I did a yahoo search for the "Universal Tae Kwon Do Brotherhood" this thread was near the top of the list of results. I felt it was unfair to Grandmaster Humesky and the Universal Tae Kwon Do Brotherhood for me not to respond with facts.

I also gave the moderators of this site credit for banning the rascal that made the original post.

Respectfully
Eric Shepherd

 

[mango.man]

From post #12 in this thread:

Grandmaster Eugene A. Humesky has trained under:
1. Grandmaster Un Yong Kim,

I always chuckle when I see that name. Is Un Yong Kim still rotting in a South Korean prison cell?

Just curious.

Sorry if by laughing at Un Yong Kim's name offends Eugene Humesky or his followers.

 

[exile]

Exile you are right in general. However, when I did a yahoo search for the "Universal Tae Kwon Do Brotherhood" this thread was near the top of the list of results. I felt it was unfair to Grandmaster Humesky and the Universal Tae Kwon Do Brotherhood for me not to respond with facts.

I also gave the moderators of this site credit for banning the rascal that made the original post.

Respectfully
Eric Shepherd

I understand your situation, Eric. Sometimes one really does encounter outrageous stuff in much earlier threads and shakes one's head... if you look around a bit, though, you see that a awful lot of the people who sent these posts are either banned or closed their accounts on their own (presumably in a huff after receiving warnings from admin), because of a general pattern with such users (if you're interested, there's a very good thread in the Admin forum I was just looking at, I think its OP was `Why was this user banned?', which explains the criteria and process in some detail).

 

[terryl965]

All I know is, he is a very nice gentleman and a well rounded martial artist.
Keep the faith all will be well.

 

[TraditionalTKD]

I was able to look at Humesky's resume on the class website. He does list Dr. Un Yong Kim as one of his Instructors. Other than being the former President of the WTF, I was unaware that Dr. Kim ever taught TKD or was qualified to do so. My perception is that he was a sports administrator (albeit a very good one). Does this mean that Humesky is lying about who he received training from? Given his position as a University Instructor, lying about your credentials is a serious offense. Academia frowns greatly upon that.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

I have known Grand Master Humesky for a long, long time. I started training with him after training with my instructor up to the level right before black belt. My instructor Jeff Fields was affiliated with Master Humesky and Remy Presas. In order to progress farther in Tae Kwon Do we had to travel down to Ann Arbor and train with the UTB and under Master Humesky. (so my opinion may be a little biased)

Master Humesky is a one of a kind individual. Understand that he is Ukranian born and lived during World War II. (he even spent time in a german concentration camp) He is passionate about knowledge, passionate about Tae Kwon Do and all martial arts for that matter. I believe he does have any certificate that he has up on his website as his house is literally covered wall to wall with certificates and more. He is very big on being legit in other people's eyes and that is why he has tried to belong through the years to multiple organizations. Is that not somewhat ironic given this thread. Needless to say he is a very humble and respectful man and this thread is sad but what can you say as this stuff is part and parcel with the internet. He is active still in WTF tournaments and in general open tournaments as well. He is also 83 years old and a pioneer in the martial arts.

 

[TraditionalTKD]

Based on the information he presents, wall to wall certificates undoubtably means
1. Certified in his own organization, basically giving himself rank.
2. Certificates from, shall we say, less than reputable organizations (World Head of Family Sokeship et al.)

He presents himself as 9th Dan Kukkiwon. Does that mean he could walk into the Kukkiwon and everyone would know who he is? Somehow I doubt that.
I'm just using the information he presents as a basis for my opinion. I did have a chance years back to observe a class. His technique left quite a bit to be desired. No power, sub-par basics, weak stances, poor balance. Of course that was just one class. Maybe things ahave improved since then.

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

Traditional TKD he does have a 9th Dan through the Chang Moo Kwan. I have seen that certificate myself. You must also understand that he is a man of honor and is not lying about anything. Further, his website is run and maintained by Master George Petrotta. Master Humesky has little time or care for a website and this one was created by for him. (he is in his 80's) Trust me on this he is legit go see him and talk and he will show you any certificate you choose, just make an appointment.

PS
All of the old Master's know who Master Humesky is!

 

[Brian R. VanCise]

The above post is my final post on this matter as this thread is just ridiculous!

 

[TraditionalTKD]

My final thought:

If you have to defend someone, maybe they do have a problem. In 23 years of practicing with my Instructor, I have never had to defend him against anyone. Some fellow Korean Instructors (and American too) have resented him over the years due to his connections and access to power, but they have never questioned his abilities or credentials. Never.
If this Mr. Humesky must be defended against me or anyone else, maybe he is not all that he says he is. Jhoon Rhee and Tae Hi Nam never had to be defended.
And I'll leave it at that.

 

[Dusty]

i have to agree with Brian on this. Master Humesky is an excellent martial artist, an excellent teacher and an honourable man. his certificate numbers are listed on the website. not that hard to check out.
that is my last thought on this subject as well.

 

[TraditionalTKD]

Don't know who he is, never met him.

 

[mango.man]

From Kukkiwon Website:

Name - Current Poom/Dan - Poom/Dan No. - Date of Issuance
EUGENE A HUMESKY - 5 Dan - 05025937 - 1977-10-12

And don't give me any of this garbage that the site is not up to date, because it is.

 

[utb1528]

From Kukkiwon Website:

Name - Current Poom/Dan - Poom/Dan No. - Date of Issuance
EUGENE A HUMESKY - 5 Dan - 05025937 - 1977-10-12

And don't give me any of this garbage that the site is not up to date, because it is.

Grandmaster Humesky has all his certificate numbers on his website www.utbtaekwondo.us
I challenge anyone to use those numbers and check with the organizations. You will see that they are real.

Respectfully
Eric Shepherd

 

[TraditionalTKD]

I did check out his website to make sure I had my info correct. According to his website, he was issued 9th Dan Honorary by Mr. Uhm. I was unaware the Kukkiwon did that. However, Mango has Kukkiwon info that states Humesky is Kukkiwon 5th Dan, and that it is current info. So if the current KKW info is that Humesky is 5th Dan, but he states honorary 9th Dan from Mr. Uhm (which I highly doubt), which is it?
BTW, I'm NOT trying to disrespect the guy, just get the real facts. Something that is turning out to be very hard to do.

 

[utb1528]

From Kukkiwon Website:

Name - Current Poom/Dan - Poom/Dan No. - Date of Issuance
EUGENE A HUMESKY - 5 Dan - 05025937 - 1977-10-12

And don't give me any of this garbage that the site is not up to date, because it is.

Mango.man
Did you use the year 1977 as Grandmaster Humesky's year of birth? He is much older than that.

Respectfully
Eric Shepherd

 

[TraditionalTKD]

No, I think 10-12-1977 refers to the date in which it was issued by the Kukkiwon. I have KKW certificates as well, and they all list the issuance date. Humesky is is his 80's now, and he would most assuredly NOT be born in 1977. That undoubtably refers to the issuance date, if it is accurate.